I was thinking about calling this, “How To Succeed In Business Without Being Human.” I decided, instead, to shorten it to: Being a Jack.
A Jack Russell Terrier is an MBA on four legs. An extremely successful business model is coded into the traits of a Jack. Business and Jacks are always evolving, always-adapting and usually unpredictable. During turbulent economic times, being a Jack is indispensable. Let me explain.
Humans desire predictability and every time we are faced with capitalistic chaos theory in action, we journalize it into catastrophe. A Jack understands unpredictability and turns it into a game.
A Jack is arguably the smartest mammal in the room due to a genetic disposition for information retention. The old adage, “Smart as a fox,” hardly holds up under the mental ability of a Jack – a canine that was literally invented to hunt foxes and kill them – for fun.
Jacks notice all kinds of things you miss and they take it all in like a recordable Blu-Ray DVD. They have long memories – something you may want to remember as well since they will use that information not to get even, but to get ahead.
A JR is often called a big dog in a small package when it comes to mind-over-matter confidence. In these skinny times, that’s known as a competitive advantage. A Jack is all business even when playing.
Want to see a relentlessly brutal and simply genetic ability to keep both eyes on the ball and yet mentally juggle seven things at once and focus on all of them minutely – while running ridiculously fast? Find a Jack and watch closely. When a direction change is needed, a Jack can react instantly. The slippery little greaser possesses a smooth-shifting, nose-dropping top gear that will shave most other animals bald on a dead sprint. Think of a hairy Porsche 911 Turbo.
The compact beast is the poster-dog for loyalty and work ethic. Yet they never confuse work and pleasure. They see no difference between the two. When their loyalty is abused, however, find a thick pair of teeth-proof underwear. Payback is a bitch, especially when the bitch is a Jack. Put a Jack in the cube farm and the squares may, indeed, get adjusted, as the quicker pace repels laggards.
Losing to a Jack is humiliating, mainly because, strange as it may sound, and contrary to sports metaphors, winning means nothing to a Jack. Your defeat will be wagged off on the way to the next chase. That can leave a mark on a loser’s ego.
Jacks get their kicks from the work. That’s why they make other dogs nervous – it’s just their job, nine days a week. Jacks in a race don’t seem to care about beating each other; they just want to chase. That is known in business books as single-minded focus.
The late Heath Ledger playing The Joker is classic Jack Russell. Only a Jack could consistently twist an entire city and a billionaire superhero into such knots and appear to have so much fun doing it. That’s because everything matters to a Jack.
Successful sports teams need Jacks at every position. Political parties need Jacks top to bottom. Government and armies need Jacks. Brands need them and need to be like them. If your brand needs a shot of adrenaline, put a Jack behind your logo. Every president should get a Jack Russell as part of the cabinet. Every CEO needs a few Jacks in the office.
A Jack will have the nads to bring dead stocks to life, make lame investments walk, jerk a knot loose in operations, plunger a clogged sales effort and build powerful brands that get noticed. Want to build a Purple Cow (thank you Seth Godin)? Hire a Jack.
Jacks mean business because business is all Jacks know. A Jack comes self-contained with everything it needs to teach you enough to create a niche brand in a tough market. A Jack is a niche brand in and of itself.
Our family’s Jack Russell, Rudy, is sitting in my lap as I type this. He has been studying the screen and the words as I type. Perhaps he is thinking Jack Theory. Perhaps you should too.
